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There’s only one thing we love more than our children, and it’s our pets. I kid… or do I?
Teachers are looking elsewhere for extra income as teacher salaries continue to lag behind the rising cost of living. What better job than getting paid to walk man’s best friend?
This is precisely what New York City teacher, Michael Josephs, made headlines for. He did what many of us hope to do these days: He left teaching behind for a job that appreciates him and pays him more.
“I loved teaching, but the financial reality just couldn’t sustain it.” – Michael Josephs
As we all know, teaching isn’t easy and can often be very stressful. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, more than half of all K-12 teachers in the United States earn income from sources other than their base teaching salary. This happens while we teach, not just in the summer months.
Sometimes, those side hustles are more lucrative and less stressful than teaching.
This proved to be the case for Michael Josephs, who worked at a special needs school in Manhattan’s financial district for 40,000 dollars a year. Yes, 40,000 a year. We can see why that just wouldn’t cut it in New York, or anywhere else for that matter.
In 2019, he started walking dogs to earn extra cash. Then, the pandemic hit, and pet adoptions boomed, as did his clientele. He realized that his passion for puppies could be more lucrative than his teaching career and started his business, Parkside Pups.
“It’s been a blessing,” Josephs told The NY Post.
After building his business, Michael Josephs’ income rose to three times that of his teaching salary……a whopping 120,000 dollars a year.
Josephs has not only built a thriving business but also purchased a home and started a college fund for his one-year-old child. His success has allowed him to hire five employees, and he is offering others the opportunity to turn their love for animals into a career.
Josephs gets $25-30 an hour for walks and offers other services such as training and overnight puppy sitting. An added perk is that some of his high-end clients offer him their vacation homes.
According to Statista, about 57,000 teachers and other private educational staff quit their jobs in the United States in September 2024.
Josephs’ story highlights the growing trend of teachers leaving the classroom for greener pastures, or in Mike’s case, greener dog parks. More and more teachers are leaving the careers for which many of them attained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.
Are they leaving only because of wages? No, but compensation is consistently mentioned by educators of all grade levels as the number one reason for leaving the classroom. Seventy-five percent of educators who list pay as their top reason for leaving say that they put much more into teaching than they receive in return. That’s a given. Unreasonable expectations and being overworked are close seconds.
Josephs’ success sparks a bigger conversation.
Michael Josephs’ journey from the classroom to a prospering pet business is more than just a career change—it reflects a more significant movement.
As teachers continue to seek financial stability, respect, and appreciation, stories like his serve as both inspiration and a wake-up call.
While we celebrate his success, we also wish there weren’t this many reasons to leave such an impactful career like teaching. And while we know the pups of New York are in capable hands, let’s do what it takes to ensure our students are as well.
